Chapter 42: A Thankless Rescue
But she didn’t feel grateful. She hadn’t asked for his help—he had done it on his own. That meant she didn’t owe him anything.
Hopefully, the universe would do her a favor and keep her from running into him again before their divorce was finalized. She remained still, not approaching him, not speaking to him. It was such a stark contrast to before that it gave him an unusual sense of peace. Easton had no intention of acknowledging her—until his driver pulled up in front of him.
Before getting in, he gave her a cold glance. “You’re not even going to say thank you?”
Ellis acted as if she hadn’t heard him. Her silence made Easton frown.
Ellis used to be easy to read. Her biggest joys in life had been clinging to him and spending money. This time, however, her silent treatment had lasted longer than he expected. Even though he had wanted her tantrum to last, he didn’t like her lack of manners.
“If I hadn’t bailed you out, you wouldn’t have been able to leave. Just look at yourself—pathetic.”
Thinking she was embarrassing herself was one thing. Being told she was embarrassing was another. Ellis had heard Easton say this before, but this time, she felt nothing. Maybe she had gotten used to it. She used to think he simply had a sharp tongue, but now she realized he was just an asshole. Why should she waste her breath arguing with a man like him? It wasn’t like she was going to bite back just because he bit her first.
She lifted her head, meeting his condescending gaze. “Me being pathetic is my problem. How does it affect you? If you hadn’t come, I would’ve stayed overnight at the station and left in the morning. Who the hell do you think you are to lecture me?”
“Ellis Harper!” He rarely called her by her full name, but when he did, it was a clear sign of displeasure. Ellis wanted to return the favor, but “Easton” was only two syllables—it didn’t have the same weight.
Instead, she deliberately replied, “You! If you really think I’m so embarrassing and ruining your reputation, then hurry up and sign the divorce papers my lawyer sent you. Let’s end this marriage already.”
From the moment they met, Ellis’ way of addressing him had changed several times. At first, it had been his cousin. Then, it had been Easton. After that, it was “husband.” And now, for the first time, she had called him nothing at all. Just “you.”
Chapter 43: A Debt Too Big to Pay
The sarcasm in her new way of addressing him was clear. Easton’s expression darkened. “Stop bringing up divorce every time you open your mouth. If you want to talk about divorce, try acting like you actually mean it.”
Ellis understood exactly what he was implying. Blame her adoptive mother for drugging her—now every time they argued, she had no upper hand. But that didn’t change the fact that she wanted to cut ties with Easton as soon as possible. Loving a man like him, everything she had done for him—it all felt like a stain on her life that she was desperate to erase.
She turned her face away and let out a mocking scoff, mimicking Easton’s usual tone. They weren’t standing far apart, so he heard it loud and clear. His expression grew colder. Ellis didn’t care. Just then, her ride arrived, and she left without looking back.
As a professional driver, opening the car door for his boss was part of the job. But at that moment, it felt awkward—because he had just overheard Easton and Ellis arguing about divorce, and in the middle of it, Ellis had walked away, leaving his boss standing there. The driver carefully glanced at Easton’s face, which was as dark as the night sky, and did his best to become invisible.
Staring in the direction Ellis had left, Easton’s mind echoed with her words: Ellis, can you stop being so difficult?
She claimed to want nothing to do with him, yet she kept finding ways to cross paths with him. Was she waiting for him to coax her back home? Dream on.
When the results of the accident investigation came out, Maya felt like dying. The fault was split 70-30—Maya carried 70 percent of the responsibility, while Jerry held 30 percent. In short, Maya had to cover Jerry’s damages. His Ferrari needed to be sent back to the original manufacturer for repairs, with an estimated cost of over two million. Her car insurance covered up to one million, which meant she had to pay the remaining balance herself—over a million out of pocket.
With her current savings not even reaching a million, Maya was devastated as she vented to Ellis. “Crashing into a luxury car not only wiped out all my savings, but now I’m drowning in debt!”
“How much do you owe?” Ellis hadn’t believed Jerry’s claim at the police station that he wouldn’t ask for compensation. Bree had definitely stirred things up. “Is it a lot?”
Maya held up two fingers. “Guess.”
“Two…” Ellis had been about to say twenty thousand, but looking at Maya’s nearly tearful expression, she hesitated. “Two million?”
“Over two million!” Maya groaned. “I’m ruined!”
Ellis, who had once spent money without a second thought, now fully understood its importance. She sucked in a sharp breath. “You don’t have that kind of money…” She was well aware of Maya’s financial situation—there was no way she could come up with two million.
“Exactly, I’m doomed,” Maya started counting on her fingers. “At this rate, I’ll be working just to pay off debt until I’m thirty.”
“Do you have to pay it all at once, or can you do installments?”
“It doesn’t matter how I pay—it’s still over two million.”
“What are you going to do?” Ellis wanted to help, but she wasn’t Madam Easton anymore. Her bank account had less than three hundred thousand left.
“Nothing. I’m done for.” Maya slumped.
“Should I go back to the Hudson family and get some jewelry—” Before she could finish, her phone rang. It was Easton’s lawyer again. Without hesitation, she hung up. The lawyer had been calling her for three days straight, always about the same thing—urging her to get a medical examination so they could file charges against Bree for intentional harm. But with the pressing issue of Maya’s debt, Ellis had no time to deal with the lawyer or bother with a medical report. Her conflict with Bree was messy. They had both fought, and if this went to court, Bree could just pull out evidence of the time Ellis slapped her. The chances of winning weren’t high, and dragging this out wasn’t worth it.
She refocused on Maya’s situation. “If I go back to the Hudson family to get my jewelry… last time, I left without taking any of my pieces. If I can get them back, I can sell some to cover the cost.” Even the cheapest of her jewelry had cost at least hundreds of thousands. Some pieces were gifts from others. She wouldn’t touch anything bought with Easton’s money, but if she sold the ones that were gifted, it might help Maya out.
“You said you can’t even get past the Hudson family’s gate,” Maya reminded her. “Don’t go back. You might run into Easton.”
“I can’t get in, but…” Ellis trailed off. Other than that, she couldn’t think of a faster way to come up with over two million. Maya had nothing valuable except her car. Her family did own a house, and property in Stonebridge was worth a lot. But if she sold their only home, her mother would have nowhere to live. She couldn’t do that to her.
Ellis thought for a while. “Can we borrow money from somewhere?”
“I’ll try asking friends and applying for a bank loan,” Maya said seriously. “Honestly, our luck this year is horrible. Should we find a temple and pray for better fortune?”